The present invention relates to a network system including a number of terminals connected to a network, and a controller controlling the terminals via the network. The invention also relates to a terminal and a recording medium which can form a part of such a network system.
A known network system of this type includes a number of printers as terminals and a single computer as a controller controlling them. The computer can centrally control the operation, trouble, etc. of the printers. This makes it possible to repair the printers efficiently and, if one of them cannot be used, to substitute another for it.
It is conceivable that a server computer is connected to the network to collect information on the terminals. The controller can communicate with the server computer to obtain the information on all the terminals, thereby making the processing efficient and rapid. The use of the server computer, however, complicates the structure of the network system and increases the cost of equipment for this system.